Individual Entry

Suspiria goes Blu

Over at the High-Def Digest forums, it is being reported that Eagle Pictures will be releasing Dario Argento’s masterpiece Suspiria on Blu-ray Disc in Italy on March 11th. The source, as far as I can gather, is a product listing at online DVD store DVDLand.it, so it’s probably worth taking this with a pinch of salt for the time being (I haven’t come across it listed anywhere else). Still, if it turns out to be true, then, for me personally, this is some of the most exciting news to come out of high definition land in ages. Of all the titles in my collection that are begging for the HD treatment, I can’t think of any more deserving than Suspiria, undoubtedly one of the most stunning-looking films ever made.

My main concern at the moment, however, is the previous “Definition Edition” DVD of the film put out by Eagle Pictures. You may remember what it looked like, but just in cast you don’t, let me refresh your memory. That’s right: a horrible, ugly contrast-boosted mess, so blown out that several moments were rendered unintelligible. My big fear is that this same source will be used for the BD - and I think it would make sense to assume that this will be the case, as the Definitive Edition was created from a brand new HD master in 2007, and I doubt that they would revisit the film elements again so soon after that. Right now, I’m just hoping against hope that the contrast boosting was applied not to the HD master itself but at the standard definition down-conversion stage. Anyway, I’ve pre-ordered a copy and will keep you posted.